Improvement in corn-planters



IINITED STATES PATENT @raresa I. N. SMITH, OF GALVA, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN. CORN-PLANTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 16,39, dated February14, 1865. v

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, I. N. SMITH, of Galva,

in the county of Henry and State of Illinois, have invented a new andImproved Gorn- Planter and I do hereby declare that the t'ollowing is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis spe'ciiication, inwhich- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of myinvention,the line mx, Fig. 2, indicating the plane of section. Fig. 2is a plan or top view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a detached transversesection of one of the hopper-boxes, the plane of section being indicatedby the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detached plan or top view of one ofthe seed-slides.

Similar letters of reference in the several views indicatecorresponding'parts.

This invention relates to'an improvement in that class of corn-planterswhich open their own furrows by means of runners, and in which the depthof the furrows is regulated by the position ofthe drivers seat, whichcan be' adjusted backward or forward.

The nature of this invention and its peculiar advantages will be readilyunderstood from the following description.

A represents a frame, made of wood or any vother suitable material, andhinged together by means of pivots a, so that the rear portion canfollow the inequalities of the ground without throwing the runners outof the ground.

The front part of the frame supports the twohopper-box'es B, one oneither side, and from these hopper-boxes the seed is discharged by theaction of the slides C, which are connected by the link a, and to whicha reciprocating motion is imparted by means of the hand-lever D or Dit,as may be desired. The lever D passes through a inortise in the board F,which connects the two hopper-boxes and serves as a seat for thedropper, in the ordinary manner. The lever D* has its fulcrum on apivot,b, and it extends back in convenient reach from the drivel-s seat.This lever connects with the lever D by means of a short rod, c, and byits aid the seed-slides can be conveniently operated from the driversseat, and the dropper can be entirely dispensed with. The seed-slides Care composed of two parts, (Z d', which work one above and the otherbelow the stationary plate e. The parts d d are perforated with holes f,which alternately register with the seed-cells gg'in a movablepieee, et,inserted in the plate c. The piece e* forms the gage for the seed, andby taking out the plate e and changing the gage c* the planter can bereadily adjusted for seeds of different kinds. The plate c is secured bya catch, e', which can be readily fastened orunfstened whenever it isdesirable to change the gageplate cf. The operation ofthe seed-slidescan b e observed from the outside through windows r in the covers of thehopper-boxes. After passing the seed-slide the seed is deposited in thetwin tube h h', the-two sections of which are separated from eachotherby a vertical partition, and which are alternately closed by anoscillating valve, hit, to which motion is imparted by the seed-slide.This valve retains the seed ,in one of the sections of the twin tubeuntil by the return-stroke of said slide the- Valve is changed, and asthe-twin tubes eX- tend down in the rear ends ot' the ru-nner close tothe ground the seed drops at the precise spot where it is wanted. Thedischarge of the seed from the hopper-boxes is facilitated by doublestirrers t', which are firmly inserted in the upper surfaces 'of theslides, and passing through the seed prevents it from clogging.

The rear part ot' the frame A is supported. by two wheels, F, which runon axles G, between the longitudinal bars j of the frame. These wheelsare provided with broad faces, and they run just behind the runners andseedtubes, so that the seed discharged from the hoppers is covered byltheir action. The faces ot these wheels are kept clear by scrapers k,which are attached to a shaft, l, extending` across the rear end ot' theframe A. This shaft is provided with a crank,'li, which connects by arod, l', with the hand-lever H, so that by forcing said lever in thedirection of the arrow marked near it in Fig. 1 the Scrapers are forcedup against the faces of the wheels, and any dirt or impurities adheringto them is e'ectually removed. 1

I is the driver-s seat, which is supported by ,a carriage, m, slidingbackward and forward between the longitudinal bars n on the rear part ofthe frame A. Said carriage connects by a rod, o, with a crank-shaft, p,in front of the drivers seat, and a hand-lever, g. secured to the end ofthis crank-shaft, serves to impart an oscillating motion to the same,and by these means the seat can be moved backward or forthe-pivotedframe A, so that bythe forward or ward, as the driver may desire, andthe driver rear movement of the drivers seat, by means is thus enabledto throw his Weight backward of the lever g, crank-shaft p, and.carriage m, or forward without leaving his seat, and therethe weight of.the driver may bermade to parby partially couuterbalance the weight of'the tially couuterbalance the weight ofthe forward forward part of themachine and affect the frame and modify the depth of the furrow. depthof the furrow.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure 1 I. N. SMITH. l

Witnesses DANIEL KLINE, J osHUA UPDYKE.

by Letters Patent, is-

Attaching the frame carrying the furrowing device and seed-boxes to theforward end of

